


I Can't Do This Anymore

by Salazar101



Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, M/M, Retribution relationship fallout
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-23
Updated: 2019-06-23
Packaged: 2020-05-18 09:50:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,022
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19332124
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Salazar101/pseuds/Salazar101
Summary: Jack has excused a lot of Gabriel's actions in the past, but he can't keep doing that.





	I Can't Do This Anymore

**Author's Note:**

> This was a request filled on tumblr, I gave it some small edits and went ahead and x-posted it here
> 
> tumblr: ohgodsalazarwhy  
> twitter: NoviceSalazar

“I can’t do this anymore.”

No one could say Jack hadn’t bent over backwards for Gabriel, he’d always been the first to take the blame or ire for Gabriel’s gung-ho actions in Blackwatch… but Rialto had been a step too far.  Not only that, but Gabriel seemed completely unrepentant about the entire fiasco.

“I did what was right,” said Gabriel stubbornly, arms crossed over his chest. “You would have done the same thing in my shoes.”

Jack stared at Gabriel as if seeing him for the first time, who was this man?  Gabriel had always been the wild card between the two of them, but he’d never been so…  _ cold blooded _ , right?  Or had Jack just let love blind him all these years?  Gabriel took a step forward, hand coming up to cup Jack’s cheek.

“Stop,” said Jack sharply, catching Gabriel’s wrist, “don’t touch me.”

“C’mon, Sunshine, don’t be like this,” Gabriel moved in, boxing Jack against the wall.  It was so tempting to lean against him, to pretend none of this had happened… but he couldn’t do that anymore.

“Did you hear what I said?” Jack growled, shoving at Gabriel’s chest to get him take a step back, “I said  _ I can’t do this anymore _ .”

Gabriel snorted, “Jackie, you say that every time they ask you to sit in a two hour meeting.”

This man was infuriating, Jack clenched his hands in his thinning hair, blond streaked with white; and he blamed every white strand on Gabriel personally.  “I’m. Done.”

There was a moment of silence, Gabriel with his arms crossed over his chest and Jack, staring down at his armored boots.  He took a deep breath and straightened, lowering his hands to look right into Gabriel’s eyes, “I don’t know who you are anymore, you’re not the Gabriel I knew.”

Gabriel burst into laughter, the sound wavering between mocking and a little shrill, “Is that what you really think, Jackie? Huh?  That  _ I’m _ the one that changed?”  He slammed one hand into the wall beside Jack’s head, leaning in to snarl right up against his lips, “You’re the one who’s changed, you  _ pencil pushing desk jockey _ !”

“Shut the fuck up!” Jack snapped, hands curling into fists, “If it weren’t for me you would have been court marshaled years ago, you psychotic bastard!”

“You don’t remember anything about what it’s like on the field,” Gabriel said accusingly, “how many men have  _ you _ killed, Jackie?  Can you really stand here and act all holier-than-thou when I did what needed to be done?  I’ve seen you on the field, I’ve seen how cold those pretty eyes used to get.”

Jack opened his mouth then shut it, uncertain of himself.  Was Gabriel right? He’d always thought himself level-headed, he’d always tried to put his best foot forward and take people alive when at all possible.  Sure, there were always times on the battlefield when that wasn’t possible but… Jack shut his eyes tightly, Gabriel  _ always _ did this to him when they started to fight, made him doubt his own thoughts.

No.  Jack wouldn’t have done what Gabriel had done… he put his hands on Gabriel’s chest and put some space between them.  Jack took a deep breath, ignoring the way it hitched a little, “Whatever we had… I can’t… look–” Jack stumbled over his words, something he hated doing.  He could sweet talk a press conference at the drop of a hat, but seeing Gabriel staring at him with disbelief was stealing every word out of his mouth.

“What are you saying, Jack?” Gabriel asked sharply.

“I think this should just be a working relationship,” Jack felt lame even as he said it, their relationship had spanned decades, decades of saving each others life, of being their during their lowest lows or highest highs.  Why was  _ this _ event the one that had broken him?  It wasn’t the first time Gabriel had gone rogue during a mission, this wasn’t the first man he’d killed.

Gabriel’s expression shuttered into unreadableness, a sort of blank stare that Jack hated, “I see.”  He took a sharp step backwards, and Jack could see the anger simmering just behind the careful blankness of his face.

“I can’t keep jumping in front of bullets for you,” said Jack, as if he could explain away why he was hurting Gabriel like this.

“Of course, Strike-Commander,” said Gabriel, standing to attention.

“Gabriel, don’t be like that–”

“Be like what, Strike-Commander? This is merely a working relationship, and I have to show you the proper respect.”  Gabriel was looking at a point over Jack’s shoulder, his hands crossed sharply behind his back now. Jack grit his teeth so hard that he could feel a headache starting up behind his temple.

He wanted to scream in Gabriel’s face, to punch him, but it wouldn’t solve anything.  It would only muddy the already muddy waters. Gabriel was doing this to punish him, they were both hurt.  Jack had to be the bigger man here, he had to accept that this was what he’d asked for. The fact that it hurt even more than he’d anticipated was just an unforeseen consequence of his actions.

“You’re dismissed,” said Jack, sitting heavily in his chair, “there will be a hearing about Blackwatch conduct on Tuesday, see that the entire team is there.”

Gabriel nodded sharply, saluted mockingly, and turned on his heel and left the room.  The door hissed shut behind him but Jack got the feeling that Gabriel would have slammed it if he could have.  He sat in his empty office and wondered if he did the right thing, their relationship had been like a house of cards for a long time, the stress of tip-toeing around it had been turning him grey.

Surely it had been best to just knock the whole thing over himself.

Surely.

Maybe after the rawness of the entire ordeal had faded they could talk about it some more.  Jack couldn’t deny that he still loved Gabriel, probably always would, but love wasn’t always enough.  Jack rest his head in his hands and let himself mourn everything he’d just put to flame.


End file.
